Background
Constant Elasticity of Substitution (CES) describes the property of production or utility functions where the ratio between proportional changes in relative prices and proportional changes in relative quantities remains fixed. This unique characteristic provides valuable insights into a variety of economic models and theoretical frameworks.
Historical Context
The CES function was first introduced in an influential 1961 article by economists Kenneth Arrow, Hollis Chenery, Bagicha Minhas, and Robert Solow. Since then, CES production and utility functions have become fundamental in economic theory and applied economic modeling.
Definitions and Concepts
The Constant Elasticity of Substitution (CES) is a class of production or utility functions characterized by a constant ratio of the percentage change in the relative quantity to the percentage change in the relative price of two goods or factors of production.
A CES function can be specified as:
\[ Q = A[\delta K^{-\rho} + (1-\delta) L^{-\rho}]^{-\frac{1}{\rho}} \]
where:
- \( Q \) = Output
- \( A \) = Total factor productivity
- \( K \) = Capital
- \( L \) = Labor
- \( \delta \) = Distribution parameter
- \( \rho \) = Parameter related to elasticity of substitution
The elasticity of substitution \( \sigma = \frac{1}{1+\rho} \).
Major Analytical Frameworks
Classical Economics
Classical economics primarily does not account for CES functions as it heavily focuses on labor and capital premised on the law of diminishing returns. Fixed proportion models are more common.
Neoclassical Economics
CES functions are widely utilized in neoclassical economics. They are used in many growth models to allow for different substitution possibilities between inputs like labor and capital.
Keynesian Economics
While Keynesian models typically use fixed-proportions production functions, such as the Leontief function, CES forms can sometimes be introduced to explore relationships between aggregate demand and supply.
Marxian Economics
Marxian economics seldom employs CES functions due to its focus on labor values and exploitation. The analytical focus on constant capital to labor ratios presides.
Institutional Economics
Institutional economists rarely use the CES function formally in models, but its implications can be relevant when discussing production under different capital-labor dynamics.
Behavioral Economics
Behavioral economics often concentrates on utility maximization with a fixed elasticity of substitution, thereby using CES utility functions to model preferences.
Post-Keynesian Economics
Post-Keynesian models emphasize non-substitutability; however, in expanding towards integrated growth theories, CES functions might be employed.
Austrian Economics
The Austrian school emphasizes marginal productivity without necessarily invoking CES functions, focusing on the fixed and varying marginal contributions of inputs.
Development Economics
Development Economists utilize CES functions to analyze varying elasticity of substitution between capital and labor in developing economies, thus aiding in development strategies.
Monetarism
CES utility functions occasionally feature in monetarist models to derive utility under varying inflation rates when concerning the trade-off between consumption at different times.
Comparative Analysis
Across different schools of thought, CES functions offer flexibility and tractability in matching models to real-world substitution elasticity. They serve as a middle path between the Cobb-Douglas and Leontief production functions, reconciling extreme cases of perfect substitution and perfect complementariness.
Case Studies
Application in Solow Growth Model
Analysis of the U.S. Manufacturing Sector
Use in Developing Countries Production Function
Suggested Books for Further Studies
- “Economic Theory and Operations Analysis” by William J. Baumol
- “Intermediate Microeconomics: A Modern Approach” by Hal R. Varian
- “Macroeconomics” by N. Gregory Mankiw
- “Economic Growth” by Robert J. Barro and Xavier Sala-i-Martin
Related Terms with Definitions
Elasticity of Substitution
The rate at which the proportion of substitutable inputs can change while maintaining the same level of output.
Isoquants
Curves representing different combinations of inputs that produce the same level of output.
Marginal Rate of Technical Substitution (MRTS)
The rate at which one input must increase as another input decreases to keep output constant.
Cobb-Douglas Function
A specific form of a production function with constant returns to scale and lacking the flexibility of varying elasticity that CES offers.
By understanding the CES function and its application across various economic models, scholars and practitioners can better analyze and predict responses to economic changes under different contextual dependencies.
